Enter Detective Raatko
by MiriRainbowitz
Summary: Of all the vigilante-infested cities in the world, Nyssa would show up in his. (2nd side story in the I (don't) love you verse, set immediately after chapter 10 of I (don't) love you).


For those of you who don't Arabic, I've put a translation at the end, which was done by Fatma (stayawesomegotham22 on tumblr)

* * *

By the time Oliver heard about the bank robbery and arrived, it was already over. He took in the police cars and people milling below and was about to swing away when he saw a flash of blond and heard a familiar voice.

Felicity Smoak was giving her statement to an officer, her father standing behind her. Oliver fought against the urge to swing off the building roof and check on her- she didn't know who he was, and Quentin Smoak was _right there_.

As he watched the two Smoaks, the hairs on the back of his neck rose, and Oliver tensed- someone was watching him. In a quick movement, he nocked an arrow and turned, then froze in shock.

"Ahlan ya, Oliver," Nyssa said, a familiar smirk on her face. Oliver lowered his bow, then pulled off his hood.

"Nyssa," Oliver replied. "Matha tafa'aleen huna?"

"Kad same't a'n Ramin yahrus almadinah. Wa aradtu an ara itha shekuki a'n haweatahu sahiha," Nyssa replied. "Wa ara annani kuntu sahiha a'n shekuki."

Before Oliver could reply, he heard voices heading towards the building roof he and Nyssa were standing on. Going over to the edge of the building, he saw Felicity and Quentin Smoak heading away from the cops they'd been talking to.

"…like it, Felicity," Quentin said. "You could have gotten killed."

"I know, but that swordswoman saved my life," Felicity replied, and Oliver turned to level a look at Nyssa. "Even if I think killing those bank robbers was a bit harsh, she did manage to keep any civilians from getting injured. And she did save my life."

"Well, I guess I'll thank her before I arrest her," Quentin replied. "You _sure_ you can't describe her?"

"I could only see her eyes," Felicity said, before moving out of Oliver's earshot. Oliver looked back at Nyssa.

"Estabdaltu alshar bel mawt," Nyssa said.

"Kuntu safal methl alshay' itha wasaltu huna fi wakt sabik," Oliver replied. "Hal satabqi huna?" Oliver doubted Nyssa would say yes- ever since Nanda Parbat had been razed, the few members of the League that had escaped had been on the run from Darhk's organization. As far as Oliver knew, he was the only one of the survivors who had settled down.

Nyssa paused and looked away from Oliver. "Na'm,"(Yes) she said. "Ratabtu ma' amatak likay antakil huna." At Oliver's inquisitive look, she continued, "Ibtadaa min yawm alithnayn sa'kun almuhakika Talia Raatko maa' alshurta."

"Maa' alshurta ? Alathi ra'esuha yureedu an ya'takilaki?" Oliver replied, grinning. He could see her process the information before she replied, "Hum bethatihim."

"Ithan saraki kareeban," Oliver said as he turned around and started to leave.

"N'am sanara ba'th,"he heard Nyssa say right before he jumped off the roof.

Nyssa paused before she walked into the precinct. She knew she shouldn't be worried; in all of Starling City, only Oliver Queen knew that Talia Raatko was an alias. The only other person who could possibly expose her was the blond woman she'd saved the other night, and apparently she'd only seen Nyssa's eyes- definitely not enough to actually identify her.

Gathering the persona of recently-transferred Detective Talia Raatko around herself like armor, Nyssa walked into the precinct. For the most part, the people there ignored her, and Nyssa reminded herself that that was a good thing. In the months since she'd taken the name of her dead half-sister as an alias, none of Darhk's men had found her, and drawing attention to herself would not be good for her continued survival.

She walked over to the Police Chief's office, which was closed. Inside, she heard two people talking, so she knocked on the door.

"...isn't over, Dad," came a vaguely familiar voice, and the door opened to reveal the very same woman Nyssa had saved.

It took all of Nyssa's training to not react, but the other woman didn't seem to realize who she was. "You must be the new detective," the woman said. "Talia...?"

"Raatko," Nyssa replied, taking a moment to switch to an American accent before talking. "Talia Raatko, but I like to go by my middle name Nyssa."

"Tell that to my dad," the woman replied. "By the way, I'm Felicity Smoak." Nyssa smiled at her, and Felicity actually flushed. "Anyway, I should let you go and- see my dad. And I need to go to work. So I'll just-stop talking. And go." She started walking away. "It was nice to meet you," she called back over her shoulder before turning the corner.

Nyssa took a moment to focus herself - the whole encounter with Felicity Smoak had thrown her off a bit - and then walked into the office, taking a moment to observe Police Chief Quentin Smoak. When she'd seen him Saturday night, she hadn't been too impressed by him, but in retrospect, she'd only seen him in the aspect of worried father. The man regarding her from behind the desk resembled that man only in appearance, exuding confide and authority instead of worry.

"My daughter was just telling me that if would be "complete overkill" to get her a bodyguard," Chief Smoak said. "What's your opinion?"

"Why do you want to give her a bodyguard?" Nyssa replied.

"She's been in a lot of dangerous situations lately," he answered. "I just want her to be safe."

Nyssa felt a pang at the obvious concern Chief Smoak displayed towards his daughter. Her own father had been nothing like that- he'd protected her by teaching her how to protect herself. "How old is she?" she asked.

"She's 25," he replied.

"She's right- a bodyguard would be 'overkill'," Nyssa said. "At that age, my father trusted me to be able to defend myself. Has she had any self-defense training?"

"Yeah, but that was back in high school," Chief Smoak replied.

"If you wouldn't mind, I could train her," Nyssa offered. "After I'm done with her, she could definitely defend herself from most risky situations."

Chief Smoak studied Nyssa for a few seconds, a surprised expression on his face, before nodding. "Sounds reasonable. Why don't you come over for dinner tonight? Get to know her. Maybe see if any of my other girls could use training."

"It's no problem, sir," Nyssa said, smirking internally. _So much for arresting me._

* * *

"Ahlan ya, Oliver," "Hello, Oliver,"

"Matha tafa'aleen huna?" "What are you doing here?"

"Kad same't a'n Ramin yahrus almadinah. Wa aradtu an ara itha shekuki a'n haweatahu sahiha," "I'd heard tales of an archer protecting the city. I wanted to see if my suspicions about his identity were correct,"

"Wa ara annani kuntu sahiha a'n shekuki." "It seems they were."

"Estabdaltu alshar bel mawt," "I replaced evil with death"

"Kuntu safal methl alshay' itha wasaltu huna fi wakt sabik," "I would have done the same if I'd gotten here earlier,"

"Hal satabqi huna?" "Are you going to stay here?"

"Na'm," "Yes,"

"Ratabtu ma' amatak likay antakil huna." "I arranged with your aunt to get transferred here."

"Ibtadaa min yawm alithnayn sa'kun almuhakika Talia Raatko maa' alshurta." "Starting Monday, I am Talia Raatko, with the police."

"Maa' alshurta? Alathi ra'esuha yureedu an ya'takilaki?" "With the police? Whose Chief wants to arrest you?"

"Hum bethatihim." "The very same."

"Ithan saraki kareeban," "I guess I'll see you soon,"

"N'am sanara ba'th," "You will,"


End file.
